Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh My!

The girls and I took advantage of the cooler, less humid weather on Thursday (as well as the discount tickets available through my work) and went to the city to visit the Zoo.  Bob the Gnome was unable to attend, but Ben came along to enjoy the day.

We walked and walked and walked (Ben generally rode in a pocket) until we were pooped.

As always, we finished off our trip with a stop at Rita's for Italian Ice.  So ends another great day in the Big City.

Bob & Ben Go to The Big City

The girls attended their first day of the Library Summer Program yesterday.  As always, they had a great time.  They came home with hollowed out potato-faces with radishes planted for hair, a worm farm, and little gnomes, who are meant to accompany them on adventures this summer.  Our family's gnome is named Ben, our friend C named her gnome Bob.

Bob and Ben travelled with us to the Big City today to visit the Natural History Museum.  This was a first not only for the gnomes, but for C as well.



First, Bob & Ben discovered the Dinos



Bob & Ben met a Grizzly Bear!




The gnomes found some mushrooms that
they thought might be nice to live in.

 

They rode in a boat, and were the only
ones who didn't get seasick.

Bob & Ben discovered a playground just their size.
The girls were sad that they couldn't play there!

They cooled off in a fountain.

The gnomes had a chat with some parakeets.




Finally, Bob & Ben ate some ice cream
before heading home.


 I think that everyone, gnomes included, had a fun day in the City!

Mother's Day

JP got me a lovely cobalt blue enameled cast iron pot for Mother's Day.  It is just like Le Creuset, only about $200 cheaper.  Now I'm going to practice lifting it until I build up huge biceps.

The girls spent the afternoon making a pop-up Mother's Day card, which is adorable.

I spent the afternoon with my Mother.  We had a nice lunch at a tiny bakery on the creek.  Then we examined her flower beds in the drizzle.  I am so grateful on a daily basis that my parents are our closest neighbors.  Partly, I'm grateful for my girls' sake:  I wish that I had the opportunity as they do, to grow up near my Grandparents.  Mostly, it's just nice to know that there is someone else up here on the ridge for company and advice.

This week I spent a long time with a woman who was recently given news of major medical issues.  The woman vacillated between wishing she never had testing done, stating that she just wanted to "give up", and hoping that she would be around for her Granddaughter's wedding.

That experience made me think (again) how temporary everything is.  These people around me, that I love so much, are here for a short time.  It's my job to make the most of it all.

So Mom, in case I don't tell you enough, I love you.  I enjoy having you as such an integral part of my life.  Thank you for all you do in loving and caring for me and my family.  Happy, happy Mother's Day.

Don't forget to tell the ones you love how much they mean to you...you can never say it too many times!

Outing of the Week 10 - Idlewild

We did our annual trek to Idlewild today, as did plenty of other people...although it was not too terribly crowded. Can this really be the 6th summer we've gone?

JP has a vertigo thing for the past several years. He ends up doing a lot of people watching, while I try to figure out how to get an odd number of people on rides...it means that sometimes I end up going twice, because BOTH girls want to ride with ME. (I should feel special for that, right???) JP says he was astounded by the number of obese people he saw...he thought they numbered well over 50%!

Even though we only stay for about 4 or 5 hours, we get to go on lots of rides. The girls always want to walk through their favorite Storybook Forest first. Tonight, J told me "I had SUCH a fun day today!" L said that EVERY ride was her favorite.

On the way home, we passed a produce stand selling peaches. Although Mom and I have already canned a bushel of peaches, I bought another 2 bushels.

After dinner this evening, the girls, JP and I sat and watched The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe while snapping 3 gallons of beans from the garden. I canned another 7 pints of Dilly Beans tonight, but have another huge bowl of beans to deal with.

Guess what I'm doing tomorrow?

Adults Only Outing

JP and I managed to slip away SANS CHILDREN (thanks Mom & Dad) to the city yesterday for a wee bit of R&R to celebrate our 20th anniversary.



Last night we enjoyed a delicious meal at a fancy restaurant (no kiddie menu at this place!), and a leisurely stroll around the city. We could almost see the Pirates play, and could enjoy the fireworks for each home run from our Hotel window.



This morning we ate fresh bagels with a schmear of cream cheese outside near the dinos.



This afternoon, we returned home and got to work. The asparagus is finally planted! This was a back-breaking job. First JP put several scoops of topsoil at the bottom of the garden since the garden soil is so rocky and hard. Then I had to work the soil, getting the roots and rocks out of it, and smooth it into a mound about 50 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 12 inches high. The next step was digging a trench 18 inches deep, 10 inches wide, and 50 feet long. After that, we put manure and peat in the trench, and used the mini rototiller to work it in to the top soil. I piled this up into a mound at the bottom of the trench, over which we draped 25 asparagus crowns. Finally, I shovelled all the soil back into the trench to cover them up, and tacked black plastic over everything (with space for the asparagus to come up) to keep the weeds from going crazy. Whew! I hope they all come up!

JP is working on a couple of projects as well...I will post pictures when he is done.

Outing of the Week 9 - Mingo Creek

This week was one long, daily outing for Miss J, who attended Wilderness Survival Camp at Mingo with one of her friends. L and I got to do a lot of driving back and forth to take them and bring them home each day, but we also went to Krispy Kreme one day, and to the playground another day, and played games together at home.

J and the other Wilderness Survivalists did many activities this week, such as: built a hut out of debris, took a hike to learn about tracking animals by prints and scat, started a fire with flint and steel, collected water from the trees with a bag, made a compass, and learned some nifty knots. She also came home filthy, tired, hungry and happy every day.

Mingo is one of our very favorite nearby State Parks. It is lovely and cool there by the creek. There are several very nice play areas, and miles and miles of hiking trails. We go there once a month during the school year for Home School Outdoor Classroom: an hour of science class outdoors, always fun.

Today we are preparing for the arrival of JP's sister and family for the weekend, and next week is our family vacation week. Fun, fun, fun.

Outing of the Week 8 - The County Fair

The girls and I headed back down the hill (my third time today) this evening to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the local County Fair. We usually go for one evening every summer, but this evening was less hot and humid than most...hooray!

We bought greasy food on a stick and ice cream. We wandered through the barns, admiring the sheep and goats. We happened upon a cow getting a hair cut, and were able to pet some of the bunnies. We marvelled at the surprising number of outfits consisting of Daisy Duke shorts and cowboy boots. We stopped by the petting zoo before heading over to the rides, and were surprised to see this little guy...not exactly indigenous to PA!



After riding a mini roller coaster, the Ferris wheel, and doing bumper cars (among other things) we decided to call it a night. We managed to blow through about $50 in a couple of hours. Amazing.

Outing of the Week 7 - Swimming & Take Your Daughter to Work

I am exhausted after last week, both emotionally and physically. L's school supplies arrived Thursday morning, so I spent several hours cleaning and organizing the school room. J's are due to arrive today. The girls and I decided that we needed to take a break that afternoon and go to the pool. It was lovely! We always go after 2 PM, when it starts clearing out to miss the crowds.

Friday morning was the funeral service for N. It was done by a group of Orthodox monks from their old congregation in Chicago. The musical chanting nearly put me into a trance. It was special to sit with a large group of people who loved her, and think about the small part of her life that I knew.

J was adamant about coming to the funeral with me. N's daughter is one of her good friends after all. I didn't have time to take her back to my mother's before heading to work (an hour and a half late already), so I had her pack a bag of quiet activities and let her hang out in our break room. My mother unexpectedly had an appointment in our building that morning, and came by to bring J home, but she refused to go.

She read a book until lunch. After lunch she colored and played with medical models with the surgeon's son. The last hour she spent helping in the front office with filing charts and photo copying!

When we returned home, L asked me "Is J a doctor? She said she worked in your office!"

Later that night, we had friends for dinner and basketball, and family arrived late to spend the weekend with us. Now I am looking over my calendar for the week, and already it is looking ominous.

Outing of the Week 6 - Rain Day and Wild Things Game

Today is the infamous Rain Day in the Burg. It all started in 1874, when someone started keeping a record rainfall on his birthday, July 29th. It has now rained 113 Rain Days out of the last 137. True to keeping, we had a doozy of a rain storm this afternoon. Luckily it let loose about an hour after we returned home from the Rain Day festivities in town, where they close down High Street and fill it up with booths of food, crafts, drawings for prizes and fun things for the kids.



Later this evening, we met up with 24 of our other friends to fill up a section at our local Frontier League Baseball stadium to watch a game. (The Wild Things are the team in blue.) Unfortunately, the game started late after a rain delay (see above) and we snuck out at 10 PM after the 7th inning stretch! I just looked on line to find out that we won the game 12-7.




Fun, fun, fun...tired, tired, tired!

Outing of the Week 5 - Trolley Museum and Ephrata Water Park

It has been a hot week. Hot. Hot. Hot.

I dabbled a bit in the garden some mornings, but mostly we stayed in. I worked an extra half day on Monday, and by the afternoon, the girls and I were ready to jump in a lake. Or a pool. We choose pool, and went to the local water park, which used to be the local pool (and was a lot less expensive to get into back in the day!) J swam like a fish, and L did things that she never had before, like go down the water slide and swim under water under the raining mushroom. So we finally made it to the pool by the last part of July. Whatever.



On Thursday, our designated Outing Day, we scrapped the idea of outside touring for the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, just 40 minutes away. We got to take a 30 minute ride on a restored electric trolley through the countryside, then quickly walked through the Children's Garden right next door. We continued on to do some back-to-school clothes shopping and went to Toys-R-Us as the girls had saved up for a toy that was currently BOGO.



After work on Friday, we loaded up the van, stopped by the Hex House for Grandmom, and started our journey to Ephrata in the 95* heat. We arrived at the home of my Aunt sometime after 9 PM. The following day, my Aunt hosted myself, 4 of my cousins, another Aunt, my mother, and 8 cousin-and-a-halves for brunch and water play. She had set up a virtual water park in her back yard, complete with Kidwash, pool, slip-n-slide, water guns, bubbles and water balloons. By the time the temps were nearing 100*, it was time to shed the wet clothes, climb back into the HOT van, and drive 10 minutes to my Grandpa's apartment.

We talked with Grandpa about birds, gardens, house projects, my brother's imminent move, my job, the girls' school, blue crayfish and coal mining. I hadn't seen him since Grandma's funeral back in October, and I thought he was actually looking a bit better since then. It was good to see him smile again!

We kissed Grandpa goodbye and dragged our tired bodies out to the even HOTTER van, and turned South and West toward our corner of the world. Once we made it over the mountains in Maryland, with a brief stop at Sideling Hill, the temperatures dropped 10 degrees and everything looked pleasantly greener. We returned home to discover that it had rained significantly in our absence and cooled things off a bit.



Today was humid and hot again...typical for a Pennsylvania summer. JP and I picked beans this morning, and snapped them (with L's help) while watching a movie this afternoon. At the moment, I am waiting for the pressure canner to cool off, so I can see if my first attempt at canning beans was successful.

Thus ends another full summer week!

Outing of the Week 4 - water play with friends

Ok...this only slightly fills the qualifications of an "outing": something fun, and away from home. The girls certainly enjoyed playing in the giant, blow-up water slide/pool thingie with their friends! L stayed in the water until her lips were purple. J didn't get out until she was forced to in order to head home for dinner.

The girls also have a weekly, pre-scheduled outing at the library all summer. They go for Story Hour/Reading Group, have lunch and a movie, and then spend some time doing geography/world cultures/social studies up in the Family Literacy Dept. L asked me, on the way to Library Day Camp this week, "what do you do all day while we are gone?" Unfortunately I accomplish much less that I hope to every time. This is the first time since I was in my early 30's that I haven't been responsible for ANY children, and at that point I was both pregnant AND working full time! Just having peace and quiet is LUXURIOUS!

Mostly I work in the garden and run errands. This week, I managed a walk with a friend, which turned into a visit with another friend that we bumped into on the way. I'm also trying to get some CME (Continuing Medical Education) reading done, so that I don't end up trying to get 100 hours of reading done in 4 months before my certification expires like last time. Mom and I are planning to tackle the garden with gusto this weekend, and hopefully it will be wrangled into shape enough for pictures (although I think it looks beautiful now, despite the weeds!)



I picked the first basket of beans last evening, and snapped them while watching "Arrested Development" on Netflix. They are vibrantly colored enough for the kids to help pick (which they did this morning with my Mom).

Outing of the Week 3 - VA, Mountain State Brewing Co., Cold Stone Creamery & the POOL

Ah yes, it has been a busy weekend! We started off with a quick trip to VA for the Memorial Service and Interment of JP's mother. It was lovely to see family again, and we were able to get a few pictures of those of us who were there. The girls (as always) adored being with their older cousins, and were extremely reluctant to leave. We had to head home directly after the services, however, since JP is on call this week, and we really needed to be closer to home.



We did manage, however, to include a Half-Birthday celebration for the girls later on. This is a concession, mostly to L, whose birthday gets lost in the shuffle and madness of Christmas. J can't stand being left out, so she gets included for the next couple of years yet. Usually we celebrate the middle of June, but it was overlooked this year, so...better late than never, right?

This year we celebrated by a trip to a new restaurant, recommended by an acquaintance, in nearby Mo'town: Mountain State Brewing Co. The whole building has a rustic feel, with the wood burning stone oven taking center stage inside, and logs serving as pillars and posts. We started off with this lovely appetizer plate, since we were all starving. It had candied roasted almonds, wedges of brie, Gorgonzola, and asiago cheese, green olives and dried apricots.



Next, we had an amazing "flatbread" (their name for pizza) topped with olive oil, garlic, artichoke hearts, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto and basil. We had to try a sampler of their micro-brewed beers on tap. The blond "Cold Trail Ale" was my favorite.



We had dessert at Cold Stone Creamery, and were quite conservative with our mix-ins for first timers...too full, I guess. But, we were able to work it all off with several hours in the swimming pool.

The girls got a couple of new Wii games for gifts (did you know that you can purchase used games on Amazon? It's the way to go!): Just Dance 2 (a new favorite they discovered after borrowing from a friend) and Wii Party (haven't tried it yet, but I noticed mostly 5 star reviews on Amazon, and it apparently has 80+ games for more than one player...bonus!).

Now it's back to grindstone...work tomorrow for JP and I. Luckily, JP got the mowing done yesterday, because it's TOO HOT to work outside today!

Outing of the Week 2b - Sycamore

My friend's mother offered to us her very sturdy, very LARGE porch swing that has been stored in her barn for some years. We finally made the trip out to pick it up this afternoon, and were charmed by her lovely property by the creek. Her house is tucked into a clearing by the creek, and is surrounded by huge old trees. Flowering plants are nestled away in beds and pots here and there. It is green, green every where. The only sound heard was the trickling of the stream as it tumbled over the edge of an enormous flat rock. It was all so inviting that we would have loved to set up our deck chairs in the back yard and just relax!

The girls were enchanted as well, discovering hiding places under the trees to explore. J's words as we drove up the long drive: "Wow! This place is AMAZING! Aunt S is a Country Girl!"

Tonight Kali proved her prowess as a true mouser, catching a rodent of some sort that the kitties let get away. We had to coax it away from her with the offering of some of her special carob dog cookies. Ugh.

Outing of the Week 2a - Cars 2 in 3-D

Three words on this one: WASTE OF MONEY!

Although I personally have not yet seen a Disney or Pixar movie that I considered to be a complete flop, this is one that you should wait to rent from Redbox for a dollar. The whole 3-D movie scene is a racket, if you ask me. We had to spend an extra $12 for our family, just on the 3-D upcharge! So...the movie was cute, and somewhat entertaining, but featured Mater too much. A little Mater goes a LONG way.

If you are looking for a less expensive, more entertaining outing, might I suggest reading The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins on the veranda at Poplar Ridge. The past couple of evenings have been lovely here: no bugs, cool breezes, silence, your choice of cats or dogs (we have 2 of each this week) to stroke. It is EXTREMELY relaxing!

Outing of the Week 1 - Klavon's Ice Cream Parlor

Another trip to the big city today to visit the Children's Hospital, this time JP was able to come along. Dr. H was a bit concerned about swelling in J's left ankle, especially since we told him that both ankles have been swelling on and off since our last visit in Feb. At this point, we are to watch it for another 2 weeks. If the swelling has not subsided, she will need to have an MRI of the ankle.

I have been very optimistic about J's disease course, since she hasn't had any pain or long term swelling since her knees were aspirated and injected in January. Today, however, the Dr. said it was likely to recur...the incidence of complete remission after the injections is apparently very rare. We will continue to hope for the best!

After our appointment, we decided to visit a nearby Ice Cream Parlor that we had seen featured on the local PBS station recently. You can watch it here, starting at 14:35. The girls had hand scooped ice cream cones, JP had a delicious strawberry milkshake, and I had a chocolate New York Egg Cream (milk, chocolate syrup and soda water...interesting). The building has beautiful art deco lights, original inlaid terrazzo floor, and an 18 foot long marble soda counter with iron stools in the shape of bottle caps. There are lots of interesting old bottles and memorabilia from when it was also a pharmacy, back in the 1920's. J asked if we could "come back a lot"? I think we can make it a tradition after appointments at Children's Hospital.